


Taking Chances

by jessie13



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2019-06-22 08:31:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15577884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessie13/pseuds/jessie13
Summary: What if Johnny had moved on past Ali that senior year? What if he found a new love? How will this new relationship affect him as they face love, family drama, and heartbreak?





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own The Karate Kid, any of it’s characters or any of the screenplay. I’m just borrowing them to play with and add my spin on things.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
As he thought back, he couldn’t remember the first time he had really noticed her. Sure, he’d been friends with her brother since they were kids. They were best friends, as a matter of fact. He’d spent countless amounts of hours at their house and vice versa since they lived across the street from one another. She had always been around. She was the little sister that followed her brother almost everywhere.  
But now that they were older, she certainly had his attention. She was a year younger than him and her brother even though she was in the same grade as them. She had skipped a grade in elementary school, the principal had explained to her parents, “She needs more of an academic challenge.”.

“Hey stranger.” A female voice broke Johnny Lawrence out of his thoughts. “Haven’t seen you around much lately.”

Johnny looked up from his bike to be met face to face with the target of his thoughts. “Hey Kellie.”

“Where ya been? You and Dutch having a lover’s quarrel?” she teased.

Johnny made a face. “Nah, just been busy all week.”

A brief look of disappointment crossed her face before she spoke again. “That’s too bad.”

This time, she had his full attention. He looked at her. Her dark blonde hair was messily pulled into a pony tail and her green eyes stared straight at him. She was almost a foot shorter than him with a slender build and curves in all the right places. His eyes glanced over her body.

“Why’s that?”

“No reason. Just used to seeing you around a lot,” she said lightly as she chewed on her bottom lip. A habit, Johnny noticed, she did a lot, especially when she was nervous.  
Johnny turned his attention back to his bike as he picked up a wrench and started to change out the spark plug.

“You and Ali broke up?” Kellie asked randomly.

“Yeah.”

“Sorry to hear that.” She said.

“Thanks.”

“Summer’s almost over. Ready for school?”

Johnny chuckled, “As ready as I’ll ever be.” He finished screwing in the part on his bike before looking up. “What about you?”

“In a way I am, but at the same time I’m not. Hard to believe we’re seniors this year.”

Johnny nodded.

“You’re sure being really quiet, usually you talk to me more.” She said disappointed in his lack of communication.

When he didn’t reply she decided she would just try talking to him later, he obviously had other stuff on his mind at the time. “Well, I guess I’m gonna go back home. See ya around,” she said as she walked off toward her house.

Johnny glanced up from his bike as she walked away. “See you,” he called after her. She briefly turned and smiled as she waved.

Johnny watched her until she disappeared into her the house. He quickly finished up his bike before retreating into his own house for a quick shower. He had plans to meet all of the guys at Golf n Stuff.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“Johnny, man, where ya been?” Tommy asked as he stood up off his bike.

“Got a little tied up at the house.” Johnny replied as he took his helmet off and hung it on the handle bar before he dismounted his bike and walked towards the entrance with the rest of the guys.

“Man, I can’t believe school starts back next week. Seems like summer break is getting shorter and shorter.”

“Don’t remind us!” Bobby quipped from the back of the group.

The guys walked on into the arcade, scoping out the scene as they looked for something interesting to do.  
As they rounded the corner of the arcade, Bobby spotted Ali.

“Hey Johnny, there’s Ali. You gonna go talk to her?”

“No. What’s the point?” Johnny questioned, frustrated. He thought back to the last time he’d tried to talk to her. She’d yelled at him and thrown a glass of water in his face. Maybe after she’d had a little more time to cool down he would try to talk to her again. For now, he’d leave her alone.  
Truthfully, at this point, he wasn’t really sure he wanted her back. Maybe they really weren’t any good for each other, but you didn’t just get over that long of a relationship in one night either.

“Your sister stopped by earlier.” Johnny said to Dutch as the two of them wandered off towards the air hockey table.

Dutch cocked his eyebrow, “Yeah? What for?”

Johnny half laughed, “She said she dropped by to see why I hadn’t been around much lately.”

Dutch laughed and clapped his buddy on the back. “She’s got a crush on you.”

“No way, man.”

“I’m serious.” Dutch said as he attempted to put on his most serious face.

Johnny ignored his best friend as he started up the game, sending the disc flying past Dutch’s defense into the goal, effectively scoring his first point. As the game went on his mind started to wander again. What if Kellie did actually have a crush on him? He thought she was cute but she was his best friend’s sister. He’d known her since she was eleven. He also had to admit they were pretty good friends themselves. He could talk to her about stuff he could never talk to Ali about. She seemed to always understand him, and they had a lot of the same interests.

Johnny was once again broken out of his thoughts. “Hey you alright?” Dutch questioned as his brows furrowed together.

“Fine,” was his only simple reply.

“You seem off. This whole Ali thing really is getting to you.”

“It’s not that.”

“Well, what then?”

The conversation was cut short as the rest of the guys joined back up.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the week went by fairly uneventfully. It was the day before school started back. The guys had all decided to go do some trail riding before the new hectic school year started back.  
They headed toward the beach, Johnny in the lead. As they pulled up to the hillside overlooking the beach Johnny stopped and waited for the rest of the group to catch up. Tommy and Bobby pulled up on either side of him with Dutch and Jimmy bringing up the rear.

“Brew time.” Tommy said as he pulled a beer from his bag.

“Pass.” Johnny declined, followed by Bobby as Tommy popped the tab and started drinking.

“You’re still the ace degenerate.” Tommy pipped up at Johnny.

“Ex degenerate, man!” Johnny said. “9 a.m. tomorrow I’m a senior. I got one year to make it all work and that’s what I’m gonna do, make it work.”

“Looks like you aren’t the only trend setter Johnny. Take a right and look.” Tommy laughed.

A flash of anger crossed Johnny’s face as he pulled his helmet back on.

“Let it go Johnny!” Bobby warned as Johnny sped off.

“Thought they broke up?” Jimmy questioned.

“She did, he didn’t.” Tommy smiled as they all followed Johnny down to the beach.

Johnny dismounted his bike walked over and kneeled down in front of Ali as he set his helmet beside himself, “I wanna talk to you.”

“Yeah well I don’t wanna talk to you.” She said as she turned on her radio, Johnny turned if off. “Why don’t you just take your little Cobra Kais and get out of here?”

“Oh yeah, like that’s gonna solve everything.”  
Johnny turned off the radio standing up and holding it where she couldn’t grab it.

“Give me my radio!” She shouted at him.

“No.”

“Give me my radio!”

“You promise to talk to me?”

“Yes, just give me my radio.”

“You promise?”

“Yes.” He handed over the radio and she turned it back on ignoring him once again. In anger he grabbed it throwing it to the ground. She shoved him backwards, “You broke my radio!”

Johnny caught movement from his left eye. “Don’t touch it punk.” He said in a warning. The stranger moved towards him and Ali with the radio. Johnny grabbed the radio from him, “You want it?” He asked holding it towards to guy. Johnny shoved it into his hands knocking him to the ground. He quickly got to his feet rushing towards Johnny. Johnny stepped to the side tripping him in the process and turning back into a fight stance ready for whatever came next.

“Just stop it Johnny! Leave him alone.” Ali shouted.

“What? I didn’t do anything!” Johnny said to her.

The kid charged at Johnny again, this time Johnny sent him to the ground with a spinning crescent kick to the stomach.

“You must feel like a big man now, huh?” Ali questioned angrily.

“Look you started this! All I wanted to do was talk to you.” Johnny shot back.

“Well just leave him alone and we’ll go talk.” Ali pleaded.

“Yeah, where’d I heard that before?” Johnny walked towards the kid still on the ground. “How about you hero? Had enough?” At that time the kid punched Johnny in the nose. Johnny stepped back in shock as his hand went to his nose. He pulled it away, seeing the blood on his fingers.

“Ok now we’re even.” The kid said.

“No mercy, man.” Johnny said coming at him with a front kick followed up by a crescent kick and then a back fist to the mouth. This time the kid fell to the ground and didn’t get back up. Johnny stepped back towards Ali, keeping his eye on him to make sure he didn’t try anything else.

“Let go of me! Why don’t you hit me? Does that make you feel better, huh?” Ali shouted as she slammed her fist against Johnny’s chest and pushed him backwards.

“It’s your fault.”

“My fault?” She questioned angrily. “Everything is your fault. Why do you always have to fight?”

“Bullshit. Get on your bikes guys.” Johnny said waving his hand towards Ali in dismissal.  
Johnny and the rest of the guys mounted their bikes and rode off.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“Hey, man, you sure you’re alright?” Dutch asked as they pulled into their neighborhood. Johnny didn’t answer right away, so Dutch spoke again. “Just forget her, she’s nothing but trouble.”

“You’re probably right.” He said finally. “I’m going to bed. See you in the morning.”

Johnny pushed his bike into the garage before walking into the house. He wasn’t sure if his parents were home or if they were off at some social event. Right now, he really didn’t care. He trudged up the stairway heading for his room. He crashed down on his bed with a heavy sigh. He stared up at his ceiling in frustration. He didn’t want Ali back, so why had he gotten so mad about her talking to some other guy? He shouldn’t care what she did or with who she did it. That cocky little punk should have minded his own business, though. Who did he think he was butting in? He had deserved to get his ass kicked.  
Johnny sat up and reached for his headphones on the night table., He slipped them on and pressed play on the tape player before he fell back onto his pillows. This time, his thoughts drifted back to Kellie. There was a girl he could see himself with. Question was, would she be interested? “Guess there’s only one way to find out,” he said quietly to himself before he drifted off to sleep.  
Johnny jolted awake the next morning to the beeping sound of his alarm clock going off. He swatted at it, shutting it off as he squinted his eyes to see what time it was. Finally, after several seconds of pep talking himself to get up, Johnny finally rolled out of bed.

He quickly threw on a pair of jeans with a shirt, paused long enough to comb his hair into place and brush his teeth before he rushed out the door. Dutch was already waiting for him by the curb with Kellie.

“Morning,” they all greeted as Johnny mounted his bike and the three of them rode off in the direction of the high school.

They were the first ones to arrive, shortly followed by Bobby, then Jimmy and finally Tommy showed up last.  
They all stood in the parking lot talking until the first bell rang. Everyone separated, going to their own classes.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
At the end of the day Kellie, was the first one back out to the bikes, followed shortly by Johnny.

“How was your day?” She asked cheerfully.

“Not bad. Yours?” he asked as he leaned casually up against his bike.

“Pretty good.”

“So, I was thinking,” Johnny began. “Maybe we could go grab a burger or something Friday night?”

Kellie looked at him surprised. “Yeah, sure.”

Johnny smiled at her. “Pick you up at 7?”

“Sounds good.” She smiled.

At that time the rest of the guys walked up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny and Kellie have their first date

Disclaimer: I do not own The Karate Kid, any of it’s characters or any of the screenplay. I’m just borrowing them to play with and add my spin on things.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
He’d waited all week for Friday to finally arrive. He thought the school day would never end; it seemed like it went on forever. Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of the day had finally arrived. He rushed out of the school and to his house as quick as he could. He knew he had plenty of time to shower and get ready before he saw her, but he wanted to have a little time to run to the store first.  
Should have stopped on my way home, he thought to himself.

He quickly dressed before running downstairs and out to the garage. He hopped into his car, quickly starting it and backing out of the driveway before he took off down the road. He headed in the direction of the nearest florist. He made it there quickly, got what he needed and headed back home. He still had a little time to kill before he picked Kellie up. It wasn’t like he had far to travel to her house either, since she lived right across the street from him.

He flopped down on the couch as he flipped through a karate magazine. Every couple of minutes, he glanced at the clock. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. He was more than ready to see Kellie. He’d never felt so anxious about anything before.  
Finally, after what felt like days, it was time to pick her up. He pulled his car up to the curb on her side of the street so she wouldn’t have to walk far, and he walked up the sidewalk to the front door. Before he even had a chance to knock, the front door swung open.

“Hey,” Kellie said, as she smiled up at him.

“You look great,” Johnny complimented.

She blushed as she looked down at her feet before smiling again, that time trying to hide the nervousness she suddenly felt. She and Johnny had always been good friends, but now, things seemed different. To her, it was like they were just meeting for the first time. She didn’t know what to say or how to act. From what she could tell, from how he kept shifting his weight from one foot to another, looked like he was feeling the same way.

Johnny broke the awkward silence by speaking first. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Kellie replied as she followed him to the car.

As they approached the car, Johnny mentally kicked himself as he remembered he left the flowers he’d gotten her in the car. He opened the door for her and made sure she was settled in before closing it. He rushed around to the driver’s side, quickly hopping in.

“I’m such a dork. I completely forgot to bring these up to give to you,” Johnny said as he handed her the bouquet of flowers.

Kellie laughed. “Thank you. They’re beautiful.”

Johnny shifted the car into drive and drove off.

It wasn’t a very long drive to The Burger Grill. Johnny parked the car, and then walked around to the passenger side to open the door for Kellie.

“Such a gentleman,” she complimented as she stepped out.

 

“Shall we?” Johnny lightly mocked as he offered her his arm on the way to the entrance.

Kellie laughed but hooked her arm into his.

They picked a quiet corner booth and sat down. Kellie quickly grabbed a menu and started looking over the food options. Johnny did the same, but he shifted his gaze between the menu and Kellie. It didn’t take long before Kellie caught him staring.

“What?” she asked awkwardly.

“You look amazing. Can’t believe I never noticed before,” Johnny replied, slightly embarrassed by his confession.

“You look pretty good yourself,” she said playfully. She did think he was very attractive and had for a long time. She never thought he was all that into her though. Sure, they were friends, but she never thought he would take a romantic interest in her.

“You seem nervous?” he said. It was more of a question than anything else.

“Maybe a little.”

“It’s' just me, Kel,” he said, trying to put her at ease and calm his own nerves.

“I know. I just never expected this.”

“Expected what?”

“Us on a date. I mean honestly, I had thought we would graduate high school, you and Ali would end up getting married and moving off somewhere. Guess things don’t always work out the way you think they would though.”

“Guess not,” he said smiling at her. “Besides, you’re much cooler than Ali.”

Kellie laughed at his remark. She knew the insides of that relationship. Johnny had always talked to her whenever he needed advice on how to deal with a problem they were having. He had told her that, “Sometimes I just need a girl’s perspective. You all are too complicated for us guys to figure out.”

A waitress interrupted their conversation to take their drink order. “Are you ready to order or do you need a few minutes?” she asked politely.

“I think I know what I’m getting,” Kellie replied, looking up at Johnny.

“Yeah, me too.”

They both quickly told the waitress what they were having. She wrote it down on her note pad. “Alright, I’ll have that out to you shortly,” she said before she walked away.  
They talked and laughed until the waitress brought out their orders. They ate and talked more. After they were finished, Johnny paid the check and they left.

“Wanna go to Golf N Stuff?” he asked as he settled into the driver’s seat once again.

“If you want to,” Kellie replied.

“But do you want to?” he questioned again.

“Sure,” she said simply.

“We don’t have to.”

“I don’t care where we go. I’m happy to spend time with you,” she said, finally putting an end to the back and forth debate.

Johnny sat for a minute in thought. “I have an idea.” He put the car into drive and drove off.

“Where are we going?” she asked curious as to what his idea was.

“You’ll see.”

Johnny pulled into a parking spot before they both exited the car. Kellie could hear the waves crashing against the shore before the water even came into view from the parking lot. They walked down a narrow pathway to the beach and sat in the sand. The sun was just starting to set.

“How’s this?” Johnny asked.

“Perfect.” was her simple reply.

Johnny wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder as they watched the sunset and listened to the waves roll into shore.  
As the final light from the sun was setting down the horizon and disappearing into the ocean, Johnny leaned over and softly kissed Kellie. The kiss was short and light. He leaned back to gauge her reaction before kissing her again. That time, she kissed him back.

“We should probably head back,” Johnny said. “It’s starting to get late. Wouldn’t want to get you in any kind of trouble.”

“Yeah, guess so,” Kellie replied sadly.

Johnny once again pulled his car alongside the curb before he exited and opened the door for her. He helped her out, closed the door, and walked her to her front door.

“I really had a great time tonight,” she said, as she turned around to face him.

“Me too,” he said once again, leaning forward to kiss her.

“Good night,” she said as she opened the door, slowly stepping inside. She wished the night wasn’t over. She didn’t want to say good night yet.

Johnny backed off the front porch, slowly walking down the walk way towards the car, turning every few feet to look back at her. He wasn’t too happy about the night being over with either, but as he climbed back into his car he couldn’t help but smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events after the tournament leave Johnny feeling some type of way but Kellie is there to make him feel better.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Karate Kid, any of it’s characters or any of the screenplay. I’m just borrowing them to play with and add my spin on things.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Kellie watched as LaRusso kicked Johnny in the face, Johnny’s head snapped back, and he hit the mat hard. Her heart raced as a million thoughts ran through her head. All she could think was, 'Oh God please don’t let him be hurt!'  
Her fears were quickly quieted as Johnny rose to his feet, taking the trophy and giving it to LaRusso. He even congratulated him for his win.

As he exited the ring, the first thing he did was come to her, giving her a short kiss before speaking. “I’m going to change, and I’ll meet you out front.”

“Ok,” Kellie said as she grabbed her jacket and purse before she headed for the exit. She was disappointed that Johnny had lost. She knew how much the tournament had meant to him. It was his last one. He’d won both his Freshman and Junior years.

Kellie was standing on the curb by the front entrance when Johnny came out, followed by Dutch, Bobby, Tommy and Jimmy. Johnny walked up to her, kissed her, and then wrapped an arm around her waist as they walked toward his car.

Before they all left, Sensei Kreese approached.

“You’re out,” he told Johnny.

“Hey, c’mon, that’s not fair! I got second place!” Johnny argued

“Second place? Second place is no place. You’re off the team,” Kreese shot back.

“That sucks! I did my best.”

“What’d you say?”

“I said I did my best!” Johnny said, raising his voice.

“You’re nothing. You lost. You’re a loser,” Kreese ridiculed.

“No, you’re the loser man!” Johnny argued. “Oh, I’m the loser huh?” Kreese taunted as he grabbed the trophy from Johnny’s hand, breaking it into pieces.

“Yeah.”

“Now who’s the loser?” Kreese questioned.

“You know, you’re really sick, man!”

Kreese grabbed Johnny’s jacket sleeve, spinning him around and wrapping his arm tightly around Johnny’s neck, making it hard for him to breathe.

Bobby made an attempt to pull Kreese’s arm loose, but Kreese knocked him back. Tommy rushed in to help, but Kreese cut him off. “Don’t,” he warned before turning his attention back to Johnny. “How does second place feel now, huh?”

“Come on, he can’t breathe!” Tommy tried to reason.

“Mind your business!” Kreese shot at him angrily.

“You’re gonna kill him,” Bobby added.

“Sensei. please, you’re hurting him.” Tommy tried again. “He’s sorry, ok? He really is.”

At that point. Mr. Miyagi walked up. “Let him go.”

“Mr. Miyagi’s right,” Tommy said. “Let him go.”

Kreese back handed Tommy, sending him falling backwards to the ground.

“I say let him go!” Mr. Miyagi demanded.

“Beat it, slope, or you’re next!” Kreese sneered.

Mr. Miyagi grabbed Kreese by the shoulder spinning him around. Johnny fell free from Kreese’s grasp. Mr. Miyagi squared up in front of Kreese as Kreese took up a fighting stance with his fist raised in a defensive position.

Kreese threw a left-handed punch. Mr. Miyagi easily stepped to the side, avoiding the punch as Kreese’s fist crashed through a car window. He turned to face Mr. Miyagi again, this time throwing a right-handed punch, which too missed and landed through another car window.

Mr. Miyagi brought Kreese to his knees as he drew his hand back for a knife hand strike. “Mercy is for the weak. We do not train to be merciful here. A man face you, he is enemy. Enemy deserve no mercy.” Mr. Miyagi struck, stopping at the last second and honking Kreese on the nose rather than delivering the deadly blow that was sure to come.

Johnny, along with the rest of the Cobras, watched the events from the curb as Johnny fought to return his breathing to normal. He still felt light-headed. He wasn’t sure if it was from Kreese cutting off his air supply, the kick to the face from LaRusso, or a combination of both.

Kellie rushed up to him, horrified by the events she had just witnessed.

Johnny looked up to meet her gaze as she threw herself into his arms.

“Are you alright?” she questioned franticly.

“I’m fine.” He tried to reassure her.

Dutch stood at the front of the car with Jimmy, both of them too stunned to move. Neither of them could believe that Kreese would turn on them like he had.

The drive back to Johnny’s house was quiet. Kellie didn’t know what to say. She was still in shock from the events that had happened right in front of her. How could Kreese treat his students that way? She didn’t even want to think about what might have happened to Johnny had Mr. Miyagi not stepped in. She definitely didn’t blame the guys for quitting. She knew how hard that had to be for all of them, especially Johnny.

Johnny had always looked up to Kreese. He’d been a father figure for him since Johnny had no real father at home. His stepdad, Sid, was a jerk. He treated Johnny like crap most of the time. Sure, he would throw money at him, buy him whatever he wanted and pay for all the stuff he wanted to do, but that didn’t come without mockery and ridicule. Sid always found a way to put him down and make him feel like crap about himself. That’s why Johnny had joined Cobra Kai to begin with. It was also why he spent most of his time out with the guys or at their house hanging out with Dutch.

Johnny hadn’t spoken the whole way home. He pulled his car into the three-car garage that was connected to their large house before he stepped out of his car. Kellie didn’t wait for him to come around and open the door. She let herself out and followed him into the house.

Johnny went straight upstairs to his room, Kellie followed closely behind him. He opened his door, throwing his jacket onto a nearby chair before he collapsed onto his bed.

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Kellie asked, concerned.

“I’m fine.” Johnny sighed in frustration. It was bad enough that he’d lost the fight to LaRusso, but for Kreese to kick him off the team and then choke him right there in the parking lot. It hadn’t mattered much, though. After that, the rest of the guys quit.

Kellie sat down on the bed beside him. She wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t seem to be in a talking mood anyway. “Maybe I should go?” she asked hesitantly.

“If you want.” he said. “I’d rather you stay though.” He finally looked at her. His expression softened as his eyes met with hers.

“Ok.”

Johnny leaned in and softly kissed her. He pulled back long enough to gauge her reaction before kissing her again. This time, he took it a little further and slid his tongue into her mouth, softly caressing her tongue with his.

Kellie wrapped her arm around his neck as she played with his hair.

Still locked in the kiss, he pushed her back against the pillows as he laid down beside her. “Let me know if things are moving too fast or you want to stop,” he whispered.

She nodded her head before he pressed his lips to hers again.

As he continued to kiss her, he ran his hand along her side and stomach before slipping his hand under her shirt to caress her soft skin.  
Johnny lifted her shirt over her head before he moved lower to unbutton the button on her pants. Kellie raised her hips as Johnny tugged down her pants pulling them off before he tossed them to the floor.

Kellie let Johnny take the lead, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do, or expected to do for that matter.

Johnny sensed her hesitation. “We can stop any time.”

“I’m ok,” she said nervously.

Johnny leaned down to kiss her again before whispering in her ear, “I’ll go slow.”

“Ok,” she said hesitantly.

Johnny looked up at her in an attempt to make sure she was truly alright and didn’t want to stop. He knew this was her first time and he didn’t want to ruin it. He took his time kissing and caressing from her lips down to her stomach, before starting the process all over again.

“Where are your parents?” Kellie asked suddenly afraid that they would get caught.

“Gone for the weekend, I don’t know where,” he said before capturing her mouth in another kiss.

 

“How do you feel?” Johnny asked as he turned his head to face Kellie.

“Good.” She smiled as she laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he pulled her close. It wasn’t long before both of them had fallen asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own The Karate Kid, any of it’s characters or any of the screenplay. I’m just borrowing them to play with and add my spin on things.

****

A few months had passed since the All Valley Tournament and the incident with Kreese. Johnny and Kellie had become as close as ever, spending every possible moment they could together. It was easier now that his schedule was free from karate.

“You look great,” Johnny said to Kellie as he gave her a soft kiss.

“Happy birthday, handsome,” she said smiling.

“Thanks.” He smiled back. “I’m gonna run upstairs to the bathroom real quick before we leave, ok?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll wait for you here.”

Within a few minutes, Johnny was back and ushering Kellie out the door to his car.

They were supposed to be meeting his mom and stepdad at the country club. He wasn’t thrilled about it, but he was trying to make the best of it. He’d figured they would go, have dinner, and then leave quickly so they could spend the rest of the afternoon together. After all, it was his birthday. Shouldn’t he get to spend it the way he wanted to? Johnny scanned the dining room, quickly locating his parents as he and Kellie walked into the country club. He didn’t really want to be here tonight, but his mother had insisted that they all have dinner together for his birthday. He placed his hand on the small of Kellie’s back as he guided her over to their table.

“Kellie, you look lovely,” Laura Lawrence greeted as she stood to hug Kellie and Johnny. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Johnny replied quickly, kissing his mother on the cheek.

“Happy birthday, kid,” Sid said gruffly as he shook Johnny’s hand.

Johnny said a quick thank you as he sat at the table. He scanned the room again to see who was there, his eyes quickly landing on Ali dancing with her father. ' _Great. Really didn’t want to see her tonight,'_ he thought. He really wasn’t in the mood for Ali or his stepdad tonight. He had other things on his mind. More important things. _‘I really need to talk to Kellie,’_ he thought. Johnny forced his attention back to the present moment. He knew if he didn’t, his mom would start asking questions, and right now he didn’t want to talk about what was bothering him.

They made small talk until dinner arrived at their table. Everyone ate with very little conversation. After they had finished the main course, everyone was served cake, and of course, a chorus of Happy Birthday was sung.

By the time they were finished, Johnny was more than ready to leave. He’d spent about as much time as he could stand around his stepfather, Sid. Johnny couldn’t stand the man. The less time he had to spend around him, the better. If it had been left up to him, he would have spent the afternoon with just Kellie.

Thinking about Kellie brought his attention back to the fact that he really needed to talk to her. He decided he would wait until they were back at her house.

The drive back to her house was quiet. The radio played in the background.

“You were quiet tonight,” Johnny remarked.

“Hmmm?” she said absent-mindedly.

“I said you were quiet tonight.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be,” Kellie said, turning her attention to him.

“Anything wrong?” Johnny asked, hoping she would open up and talk to him.

“No, no, nothing’s wrong,” she said with a reassuring smile before shifting her gaze back out the window.

Her reply was not the response he was looking for. He felt the anger building up. ‘ _Keep cool, Johnny. Wait until you get her home,’_ he told himself.

Within a few minutes Johnny pulled into Kellie’s driveway. He killed the engine, and then they both exited the car.

Kellie’s parents were out with friends of theirs, and she assumed Dutch was on a date. She stuck the key into the doorknob before turning it and opening the door. As they walked into the house, she tossed her keys on the table in the foyer before she turned to Johnny.  “I’m gonna go change.” She quickly kissed him before she strode up the stairway to her room.

She stepped out of her bathroom to find Johnny propped up against her bedroom doorway. He studied her for a brief moment before he spoke. “Were you planning on telling me?”

“Telling you what?” Kellie asked calmly as she turned to face him.

“That you’re pregnant.”

All the color drained from her face. “How’d…”

“I saw the test in your bathroom.”

“When were you in my bathroom? Are you spying on me now?” Kellie asked, anger creeping into her voice.

“Before dinner. Spying? Are you crazy? I went to the bathroom before we left, remember? You left the test laying out on the counter,” he replied as he rubbed his temple. “How could you not tell me? Do you have any idea how hard it was not saying anything to you sooner? This has been on my mind all night.”

Kellie sat down on her bed as the tears filled her eyes. “I was scared to tell you, and I wanted to find the right time.”

“The right time?” Johnny scoffed as he moved from the doorway to the middle of the room.

“What’d you want me to do? Stand up in the middle of the country club and say ‘Surprise Johnny, I’m having your baby. Happy birthday!'?” At this point the tears streamed down her face. She tried to hide her face in her hands. She didn’t want him to see her cry.

“Of course not. How long have you known?”

“Since this morning.”

“Why were you afraid to tell me?” he asked softly as he sat beside her on the bed.

She looked at him through red, tear-stained eyes. “I didn’t know how you’d react.”

Johnny didn’t say anything at first. He just picked up her hand and held it. When he finally spoke, he simply said, “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“What are we gonna do?” she sobbed.

Johnny put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She laid her head on his shoulder as the tears poured down her face. He stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Can we want until after graduation to tell?” The look in her eyes was pleading with him not to say anything.

He nodded and held her closer. A million thoughts ran through his mind. How were people going to react? What would their parents say? Where would they live? How would he support them? How would Dutch react? Johnny was more concerned about his best friend than the others. He knew Dutch would be furious. Kellie was his baby sister and he’d always been protective of her. Sure, he was the one that had prompted Johnny to ask her out, but once he found out he had, he’d given him a stern talking to about how he expected her to be treated. Not that he’d ever treated a girl bad before or anything. He knew Dutch was just playing the role of the protective brother so he paid no mind.

Johnny laid back on the bed, pulling Kellie back with him. Her head lay against his shoulder, and his arm was wrapped around her. She had mostly stopped crying, but every so often he felt her tremble and heard sniffles. He lay with her, not saying a word. Soon, he felt her breathing even out, and he was sure she had fallen asleep. It didn’t take long before he was asleep, too.

Johnny was awakened sometime later by Dutch. “Hey, man, what’s going on?”

Johnny blinked several times to adjust his eyes to the light. He pulled his arm out from under Kellie, careful not to wake her, before he sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Fell asleep.”

“Everything ok?” Dutch asked with an eyebrow cocked.

Johnny glanced at him, laughing it off. “Yeah, everything’s good.”

“You gonna sleep here tonight?”

“Yeah.”

Dutch nodded as he walked out and across the hallway to his own room. Johnny followed him. “How’s things going?” he asked as he took a seat on the bed. Johnny followed suit and sat down at the desk in front of the window.

“Good,” Johnny replied as he attempted to keep the conversation light. He didn’t want to let it slip that Kellie was pregnant. Not yet anyway.

Dutch eyed him carefully. He knew his best friend, and something was off. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he would find out eventually. “I feel like my sister sees you more than me or the guys do lately. Thought we were best buds?”

“Sorry, man.” Johnny ran his hand though his hair as he let out a slow breath. “I like spending time with Kellie. She’s amazing. Then with school, I don’t have as much time as I used to.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own The Karate Kid, any of it’s characters or any of the screenplay. I’m just borrowing them to play with and add my spin on things.

Their big day had finally arrived. They were all graduating high school. Kellie didn’t know whether to be excited or scared. She was happy to be graduating, but she knew the time to make the big announcement was getting closer and closer. The thought of telling her parents and brother that she was carrying Johnny’s child made her head spin. She rushed for the bathroom as a wave of nausea hit. It was getting harder to keep it under wraps when she felt like she stayed sick most of the time. Her mom had caught her several days before, but she played it off as if she’d eaten something bad. Her mom had believed her.

She stood up from the floor, quickly washing her face and rinsing her mouth. She took one final look in the mirror to make sure her hair and makeup were good before she exited the bathroom, turning off the light and closing the door as she went.

As usual, Johnny was waiting for her as she stepped outside. She sat down in the car and closed the door before he drove off.

“This is it,” he said excitedly. “After today, we’re finally done with high school. Then it’s just about us, babe.”

Kellie smiled weakly but didn’t say anything.

“What’s wrong?” Johnny questioned as a look of concern crossed his face.

“Nothing.” Kellie tried to play it off, but he wasn’t going to let it go so easily.

“Still not feeling well?”

She shook her head no.

“How many times have you thrown up today?”

“I’m not sure,” she answered as she leaned her head against the window.

Johnny brushed her hair back behind her ear as he quickly shifted his eyes between watching the road and looking at her.

As they pulled into the crowed parking lot, Johnny quickly spotted Tommy and Bobby leaning against Tommy’s car. Johnny parked beside them.

“Took you long enough to get here, get lost?” Tommy joked.

“Not exactly,” Johnny said glancing over to Kellie. “She’s not feeling well.”

“She’ll feel better after this is over. Probably scared she’s gonna trip walking across the stage,” Tommy said in his usually upbeat tone.

They all headed off together towards the auditorium.

They all sat patiently in their caps and gowns, waiting to hear their names. One by one, each name was called, and the students walked across the stage, pausing long enough to shake hands with the principal and receive their diplomas.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Nurse, can’t you tell us anything?” Laura Lawrence asked franticly.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to wait,” the nurse replied as she hurried off into the exam room.

“I’m sure they’re both fine, and the doctor will be out to speak with us soon,” Sid said as he sat down in the lobby chair.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Johnny, do you know where you are?” Dr. Andrews asked as he quickly shined a small light into Johnny’s eyes, checking his pupil response.

“At the hospital,” he replied as he tried to shut his eyes from the bright light. “Where’s Kellie? Is she alright?”

“Just relax,” Dr. Andrews said as he continued his exam. “Do you hurt anywhere?”

“Just my head.”

“Any dizziness, nausea, double vision?”

“A little dizzy.”

“Nurse, bring me a suture kit and some four by fours,” Dr. Andrews instructed before turning his attention back to Johnny. “You’re going to need a few stitches for this cut on your head. After that, we’re going to send you down to radiology for a CT scan. We’ll probably keep you overnight for observation and let you go home tomorrow.”

Johnny sighed. He wasn’t liking the idea of spending the night in the hospital. He also didn’t like that they wouldn’t tell him anything about Kellie. He needed to know she was ok.

“Doc, please tell me if my girl is alright,” Johnny pleaded.

“Just take it easy. I’ll see if I can find out something for you. Alright?”

Johnny nodded. For now, he figured that was the best he was going to get.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 “Kellie can you tell me where you’re hurting?” Dr. Sanders questioned.

“My head and my stomach,” she responded tearfully. “My ankle hurts too.”

Dr. Sanders pressed on all four quadrants of her abdomen, when he got to her lower abdomen Kellie inhaled sharply.

“Kellie, is there any chance you could be pregnant?”

“I don’t know,” she lied.

“It’s very important that you tell us. We need to send you for x-rays and those could be harmful to an unborn baby.”

“I don’t know,” she said again. “My head really hurts.”

Dr. Sanders quickly finished up his exam and gave orders to the nurse for a pregnancy test and x-rays. “Hold off on the x-rays until we get the test results back. I also want to get a head CT.”

“Yes doctor,” the nurse quickly replied as she rushed off to perform her assigned tasks.

“Kellie, just rest. I’ll be back to check on you shortly,” Dr. Sanders told her before he exited the room. He quickly made his way across the hallway to Johnny’s room. He stepped in side and motioned for Dr. Andrews to come speak with him. “How’s he doing?”

“Probable concussion. I’ll know more after the CT scan,” Dr. Andrews replied.

“Can he answer a few questions?”

“I don’t see why not,” Dr. Andrews said. “How is she doing? He keeps asking about her.”

“She’s awake, complaining of her head and stomach hurting. I suspect she may be pregnant, but she denies it.”

“I see,” Dr. Andrews replied as the two of them stepped over to the bedside. “Johnny, this is Dr. Sanders, he’s been taking care of Kellie. He needs to ask you a few questions.”

Johnny looked up at both of the doctors. “Ok.”

“Do you remember the accident?”

“Somewhat. I remember we left the beach and were headed back to my house. Kellie said she wasn’t feeling well.”

“Specifically, was she complaining of anything?”

“She said she felt nauseous and said her stomach hurt.”

“Thank you.” Dr. Sanders said as he turned to leave.

 “Doctor,” Johnny called, stopping him. “How is she? Can I see her?”

“She’s going to be fine. Not right now. Right now, you both need to rest.”

“When?” he asked urgently.

“Let’s get you both taken care of and settled in, and then we’ll see what we can do about visiting. Deal?”

Johnny reluctantly agreed as he leaned back against the pillow and stared up at the ceiling.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Kellie, we know you’re pregnant. The test we ran confirmed it,” Dr. Sanders informed.

Kellie didn’t say anything, her eyes filled with tears.

“Do your parents know?”

“No. Please don’t tell them,” she begged as the tears cascaded down her face.

“Telling them is up to you. I legally can’t give any information unless you authorize it,” Dr. Sanders explained.

“Can I see Johnny?” she asked through the tears.

“Not right now.”

“When?”

“Soon. Right now, you need to rest,” Dr. Sanders instructed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dr. Sanders and Dr. Andrews both stepped out into the hallway and made their way toward the lobby.

Johnny’s mom and stepdad stood up, along with Kellie’s parents and Dutch.

“They’re both going to be alright,” Dr. Andrews said first off, calming down the anxious family members. “Johnny has a mild concussion. We’re going to keep him overnight for observation. He should be fine to go home tomorrow.”

Dr. Sanders picked right up where Dr. Andrews left off. “Kellie also has a mild concussion and sprained ankle. We’re going to keep her over night as well. They were both very lucky, it could have been a lot worse.”

“What about the other driver?” Kellie’s dad asked.

“I’m afraid I can’t answer that.” Dr. Andrews explained.

“Doctor, may we see them?” Laura Lawrence asked.

“Yes,” Dr. Andrews answered. “If you’ll follow us, we’ll take you to them.”

Laura rushed into Johnny’s room and straight to his bedside, as Sid casually followed behind her.

“Oh, honey, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Mom,” he said as he tried to pull away from her. “Have you seen Kellie?”

“No. Her family is in with her now,” she said, looking at her son with concern. “Is everything ok?”

“I have to tell you something, Mom,” Johnny said as he looked at her, worry written all over his face. “Could you ask him to leave?” He motioned discreetly towards Sid.

“Sure, honey,” she said as she kissed his forehead. “Sid, could you run down to the cafeteria and bring back some soda?”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever,” Sid replied gruffly.

After Sid walked out the door, Laura returned to attention to her son. “What is it, sweetie?”

Johnny took a deep breath, not sure how to tell his mom what he had to tell her.

She noticed his worry and hesitation. “It’s all right. What’s wrong?”

“Mom, I really don’t know how to say this,” he started.

“Just say it.”

“Kellie’s pregnant. It’s mine,” he blurted out before he could change his mind and chicken out.

She stared at Johnny wide eyed for several seconds, trying to process what he’d just said. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“I see,” she said, still trying to process everything. “What are you going to do?”

“I want to marry her.”

“That’s a very noble gesture, honey, but you’re both still very young.”

“Mom, I’m 18. I’ve graduated high school. I’m starting my own life now. I want to do right by her.”

“Do you love her?”

“Very much.”

Laura nodded signaling that she understood.

Meanwhile, down the hallway, Kellie’s parents and Dutch stepped into her room.

“Hey, baby,” her mom said gently.

“Hi, Mom.”

“How’s it going, Sis?” Dutch said as he leaned down to hug his sister. “How ya feeling?”

“My head is killing me,” Kellie answered honestly.

“What happened?” her dad asked.

“I don’t really know. We left the beach and we were driving back to Johnny’s house, the next thing I remember is being in an ambulance on the way here,” Kellie explained with a confused look on her face. “I really don’t feel like talking about it right now. My head really hurts.”

“Ok, baby, get some rest. I’ll see if I can get you some medicine for your head,” her dad said as he leaned down and kissed her forehead before leaving the room.

Her mom sat down in a chair across the room while Dutch sat next to her bed.

Kellie looked over at Dutch. “Have you seen Johnny yet?”

Dutch shook his head no.

“They won’t let me see him yet. I wanna know if he’s ok.”

“I’ll go see him. You need to get some rest,” Dutch told her as he stood up and walked towards the door.

Later on that afternoon, Kellie’s parents had left for the evening saying that they would be back first thing in the morning. Soon after, Dutch had also left. She was laying in bed with her ankle propped up on a pillow, as she flipped through a magazine when the door opened. She looked up to see Johnny being pushed in a wheelchair by the nurse.

“Not too long,” the nurse said sternly before she exited the room, leaving the two alone together.

“I was so worried about you,” Kellie confessed.

“I was worried about you, too,” Johnny said taking her hand into his. “Did you tell your parents?”

“No.”

“What about Dutch?”

“No.”

“I told mom,” Johnny told her.

Kellie shot him a worried glance.

“She took it well,” he reassured her.

“I don’t know how to tell my family. I know Dutch is going to take it the worst.”

“I know,” he said before he brushed a stray hair behind her ear. “How are you feeling?”

“My head hurts, and my ankle does, too.”

“The baby?”

“He’s fine.”

“He?” Johnny questioned as he raised an eyebrow.

“Just a hunch,” she smiled.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The door slammed hard behind Dutch as he stormed outside. He paced back and forth across the driveway.

Johnny stepped out onto the porch. He didn't say a word; he just watched. Dutch stopped pacing as he turned and glared at Johnny.

“What the hell man?”

Johnny still didn't say anything. He wasn't sure what to say.

“Can't talk?” Dutch spat angrily.

“I'm not gonna argue with you, man. What's done is done.” Johnny stepped off the porch in the direction of his house. He and Kellie had told her parents and Dutch about the baby. Her parents had taken the news better than expected, but Dutch had handled it about like he had expected him to, which was not very well.

As Johnny crossed the yard to the sidewalk, Dutch stepped in his path. “I'll show you what's done!” he retorted as he caught Johnny on the mouth with a punch.

Johnny stumbled backwards, caught off-guard by the sudden assault. His hand automatically went to his mouth, a slow trickle of blood dripped from his lip. He looked up to see Dutch lunging again, this time he blocked and side stepped, sending his opponent crashing to the ground. Before Dutch could fully recover, Johnny was in a fighting stance, ready for whatever was coming next.

Dutch sprung back onto his feet; he too positioned himself in a fighting stance. “Come on, make a move!”

Johnny held his place. Each of them with their eyes locked onto their opponent, as one waited for the other to make a move. Finally, Johnny spoke. “I don't want to fight you.”

“Yeah? That’s too bad!” Dutch spat back as he moved forward with a round kick followed up by a punch to the stomach.

Johnny blocked the kick but didn’t recover in time to block the punch, too. He doubled over, trying to draw air back into his lungs.

Kellie ran outside when they heard the ruckus. Kellie was the first to speak, “Dutch, stop it!” she cried as she ran to Johnny. She stood between the two of them. Looking back and forth at each of them before she spoke again. “Dutch, you and Johnny have been best friends for years. Stop this!”

“Me stop?” He stepped closer to her, the anger flashed in his eyes. “He calls himself my friend but he gets my sixteen-year-old sister pregnant?” He stopped mere inches from Kellie.

Johnny watched as the scene unfolded, ready to intervene at any given moment.

Kellie locked eyes with her brother. “You know it takes two. He wasn’t in this alone. I was there too!” She took a breath before she continued. “I love him. He loves me. We’re having this baby. You can either get over yourself and stop blaming your best friend, for what I don’t even know.” She threw her hands up in the air frustrated. “Or you can stay out of our lives.”

A look of hurt quickly crossed Dutch’s face. He couldn’t believe what she’d just said. “You can’t mean that.”

“I do mean it,” she said tearfully.

Dutch looked from Kellie to Johnny as he weighed his options. He rubbed his temple before he looked back up at the two of them and spoke. “Truce?” he asked, extending his hand to Johnny.

“Truce,” Johnny said cautiously, accepting his handshake.

“If you hurt her, I swear to God…” Dutch warned as he stepped toward Johnny with his hands balled into a fist to emphasize his point.

“Not gonna happen,” Johnny reassured as he wrapped an arm around Kellie’s waist and pulled her close.

Kellie looked up at Johnny. Seeing the blood on his lip, she shot Dutch a look of disapproval. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” She took Johnny’s hand and led him across the street to his own house.

Johnny sat on the edge of the bathtub as Kellie pulled a washcloth from the linen closet. She wet the cloth and carefully wrung out the water before she moved back in front of him. She gently pressed the cloth against his lip. He winced.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok.” He looked up at her before he placed a hand against her belly.

She looked down at his hand and then back at him.

He stood up and wrapped one arm around her as his other hand brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, before he leaned down to press his lips to hers. Upon contact he winced again, for a brief moment forgetting about the cut on his lip.

“Are you ok?” she questioned worried.

“Fine,” he replied simply, before he once again pressed his lips to hers, this time ignoring the stinging pain coming from his cut lip.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own The Karate Kid, any of it’s characters or any of the screenplay. I’m just borrowing them to play with and add my spin on things.

**Special Thanks:** Thank you to Stephluvvsyou for helping co-write this chapter. Definitely could not have pulled this one off without your help and collaboration.

“Sweetheart you looked so beautiful today.” Laura smiled at Kellie.

“Thank you.”

Johnny walked up behind Kellie and slid his arm around her waist, pulling her close and placing a soft kiss on her head.

“I’m so tired.” Kellie said as Laura walked away. She leaned her head against Johnny’s shoulder.

“We can go, if you’d like?”

“No, we’ll stay a while longer. It wouldn’t be fair to our guests if we left so soon.”

“As long as you feel up to it.”

Kellie smiled at Johnny as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Dance with me husband.”

“As you wish, wife.” He smiled as they started moving with the music.

The two held each other close as they moved around the dance floor.

“Do you wanna sit down?” Johnny asked after the song ended.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Mind if I cut in?” Dutch asked as he walked up.

“Maybe.” Johnny said playfully as he pulled Kellie closer.

“Hey, she’s my sister!” Dutch objected.

“But she’s my wife.” Johnny said as he kissed Kellie.

Kellie laughed at the two of them before she released Johnny and stepped over to her brother.

“I’m sorry I was a jerk about everything.” Dutch apologized. “I just didn’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I know.” Kellie smiled. “Did you really think Johnny would? You’ve known him forever, he’s your best friend.”

Dutch didn’t answer. Soon the song ended and he handed Kellie back off to Johnny. “Take care of her man. If not…”

“I will.” Was all Johnny said as he wrapped his arm around Kellie.

The next few months following the wedding were pure bliss. Johnny and Kellie ended up getting a house together, and every Friday was date night. They'd walk on the beach, and fall asleep in each other's arms to the sound of the waves, looking up at a starry filled night. Of course, the mornings were still unpleasant. As Kellie neared her due date, Johnny learned what it really meant to be a committed husband - rushing to the store whenever she had a craving, or holding her hair out of her face every time she got sick. Still he was happy, because even if it wasn't all roses and sunshine, he still got to spend time at her side, taking care of her, just like he'd promised her brother he would.

It was a rainy night, when he heard her scream out from the kitchen, and if Johnny would’ve been running any faster, he may have burned tracks in the carpet.

"What happened?" he asked, looking at her standing by the sink, her belly clutched and his beer still in hand. His eyes were wide with concern.

"My water just broke." She said through clenched teeth.

Johnny looked like a deer in head lights, unsure what to do next. He franticly looked around trying to remember what he was supposed to do. Finally, he dashed for the phone franticly searching for the phone number for the doctor. “Where’s the phone number?”

“On the refrigerator.” Kellie called out painfully.

Johnny rushed back into the kitchen, grabbing the number off and dialing it. Johnny spoke with the doctor, explaining that Kellie was in labor before hanging up, grabbing the hospital bags and rushing to toss them into the car before coming back to help Kellie out to the car.

“Careful, watch your head.” He cautioned as he helped her into the car.

Kellie tried to force a small smile, “Thank you.”

Johnny drove to the hospital, getting there is record breaking time. He parked in the closest parking spot he could find before he bailed out of the car and running in to grab a wheelchair.

He helped Kellie into the wheelchair and pushed her inside to the receptionist desk.

“How may I help you?” The older red headed lady sitting behind the desk asked politely.

“My wife is in labor.” Johnny said slightly out of breath from all the running.

“I’ll need you to fill out this paperwork while a nurse gets your wife into a room.” The receptionist explained.

“I don’t want to leave her.” Johnny said defensively as a nurse pushed him aside and started to push Kellie down the hallway.

“I’ll come get you as soon as she’s settled in.” The nurse said kindly as she turned back towards Johnny before wheeling Kellie down the hallway.

Johnny turned his attention back to the receptionist as she handed him a clipboard with papers attached to it.

He glanced down at the papers and then looked up across the waiting room. This all felt strange to him. He wandered over to an empty chair and sat down to start filling out the papers.

After what felt like hours, but in reality, was only fifteen minutes or so, Johnny stood up and returned the clipboard of papers to the receptionist.

“Mr. Lawrence, if you’ll have a seat, I’ll have the nurse come get you.”

Johnny nodded and slowly wandered back to the seat. He wasn’t sure if he was more excited or scared. All he knew was that his stomach felt like it was in knots.

 

While Johnny waited in the lobby, the nurse quickly took Kellie up to Labor and Delivery. She helped Kellie into a gown before applying the fetal heart monitor and getting Kellie placed on the EKG monitor and the automated blood pressure cuff wrapped around her arm. “Your IV looks good. Your vital signs are good. Baby’s heart rate looks good. You’re dilated to about 5 centimeters. The anesthesiologist will be in soon to give you an epidural.  We’re going to keep check on your progression and looks like we’ll have a baby soon. I’m going to go get your husband.” The nurse said cheerfully.

A short time later, Kellie heard the door open and Johnny walked in.

“These contractions are getting stronger.” Kellie said to Johnny as a new contraction passed.

At that moment the nurse walked back in. “Alright we’re going to check you again.” The nurse did a quick exam before adjusting the sheet and removing her gloves. “You’re dilated to 8 centimeters now.”

Another contraction hit and Kellie grabbed for Johnny’s hand squeezing hard.

“Don’t hold your breath. Breathe.” He coached gently.

“This hurts so bad.” Kellie said tearfully as the contraction subsided.

“Almost there. Not too much longer and we’ll be holding our baby.” Johnny smiled as he sat down in the chair next to her bed while still holding her hand, trying to appear a lot calmer than he actually felt.

Forty-five minutes passed before the nurse returned. “Ok, we’re gonna check you again.” She repeated the same exam she performed earlier. Removing her gloves, she glanced over at the fetal heart monitory before speaking. “You’re dilated to 10 centimeters now. I’m going to go get the doctor.”

The nurse returned a few minutes later with who Kellie and Johnny assumed was the doctor.

“Mrs. and Mr. Lawrence, I’m Doctor Bradley. Doctor Wilson couldn’t make it, so I’ll be taking his place.” He said as he shook Johnny’s hand. “I’m going to give you a quick exam and then on the next contraction I want you to start pushing.” He directed.

Kellie nodded her head.

Johnny looked over at Kellie as he squeezed her hand reassuringly.

As the next contraction began, Dr. Bradley spoke, “Alright Kellie, we’re going to start pushing now. That’s it. Push, push. Good. Relax.”

Kellie leaned back against the pillows trying to slow her breathing. She didn’t have long before the next contraction started and the process repeated.

This process continued for nearly twenty minutes before the two parents finally heard the crying of a new born.

“Congratulations, it’s a boy.” Dr. Bradley said with a smile as he laid the baby on his mom’s chest.

“She’s so beautiful.” Kellie cried as she kissed her new son.

“Looks just like his mom.” Johnny said as he leaned down and kissed Kellie before once again looking at his son.


End file.
